Could this be the start of something big? Chesapeake-Anne Arundel hurler Ryan Moore certainly thought so after his 4-0 shutout of No. 1 Calvert Hall, the two-time Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association champ.

"We lost to [No. 2] Mount St. Joe, 5-2, on Monday, and we knew Calvert Hall had beaten [4A state champ] Arundel and was ranked above St. Joe," said Moore, one of only two seniors in yesterday's lineup for No. 7 Chesapeake (1-1). "The No. 1 thing was to come out and play a steady game and not to be intimidated. This is definitely the biggest win of my career."

Moore braved teeth-chattering temperatures in going five innings, allowing only two hits and five walks while striking out five. Jeff Fraley entered in the sixth and allowed just a walk with two strikeouts.

Moore was aided by a three-run third inning and acrobatic grabs by outfielders Chad Duncan, Matt Wolfe and Jared Vogt early on. He had a rough second inning, walking two, yielding two steals, and balking once. But with the go-ahead run on third base, Calvert Hall's Dave Smith popped out to second base.

"I just tried not to throw a straight fastball, and to make the ball move. Keep them off balance, and rely on our defense, which I credit for the win," said Moore, who is 1-0. "With a four-run lead, I should have just been throwing it instead of aiming it."

Vogt doubled to start the third inning, and advanced on a single by Mike Bianco. Vogt scored to make it 1-0 when Cardinals pitcher Mike Svehla overthrew first base trying to get Moore. Bianco made it 2-0 after Cory Dlugokeski grounded out, advancing Moore to third. Moore crossed the plate on another grounder by Dave Stepp.

It became 4-0 in the fourth after Marvin Hazen singled, stole second, took third on a wild pitch, and scored on a popout by Ryan Terpay.

"Losing to St. Joe the other day wasn't as bad as the write-up on the game in the papers the next day, which [disrespected] Anne Arundel County baseball. That helped us today," said Chesapeake coach Jimmy Simms.

"Calvert Hall's a great team, but today we played better. The bottom line is that we hit when we had to, and we executed when we had to. It's a big win, but a long season."

Calvert Hall (5-1) -- which lost its coach, Joe Binder, when he was ejected by umpire Dave Green for arguing balls and strikes -- stranded seven runners, including Chuck Easter, who doubled and reached third with one out in the third inning.

"Michael threw the ball well enough to win, but we didn't take advantage of some early chances and they made some decent plays," said Binder.

"We got a little unsettled when we should have beared down. It's the sign of an inexperienced team, but we're still in pretty good shape. Sometimes, a loss brings you together."